Japan’s Kyodo News says a North Korean defector will come to South Korea.

Quoting a U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees official, Kyodo News said that an interpreter for the North Korean military secretly entered eastern Russia in September. It said the Russian government turned down his request for asylum and that South Korea will accept him.

The North Korean defector testified that he was an interpreter for Russian relations for high-ranking North Korean military officials. He reportedly said he defected due to difficulties under the Kim Jong-il regime.